2015考研英语阅读英文原刊《经济学人》：揭秘中国消费者

　　2015考研英语复习正是强化复习阶段，考研英语阅读在考研英语中占了40分，所以考研英语阅读是英语科目中重要的一项。新东方名师范猛老师曾建议过考研生需要坚持每天泛读10-15分钟的英文原刊。强烈推荐了杂志《经济学人》.杂志中的文章也是考研英语的主要材料来源.希望考研考生认真阅读，快速提高考研英语阅读水平。

　　The mystery of the Chinese consumer

　　揭秘中国消费者

　　In the first of a two-part series on Asian consumers,we ask what makes the Middle Kingdom’s shopperstick

　　Jul 7th 2011 | SHANGHAI | from the print edition

　　LILY LI wears a lanyard with a little plastic card around her neck, even at weekends. It is abadge of honour: it shows that she has a white-collar job. (She is a secretary at Access Asia,a retail-research company in Shanghai.) She uses Apple earphones for the cheap Chinesemobile phone in her pocket, so it looks as if she owns an iPhone. And she drives to work,though it takes four times longer than public transport, just to show off her little car.

　　李小姐周末也佩戴者一张小塑料卡片。这是荣耀的象征：白领。(李小姐是通亚公司Access Asia一位秘书，通亚公司是上海一家零售市场调研公司。)李小姐包里装着便宜的国产手机，耳上却戴着苹果的耳机，看起来就像用的是苹果iPhone手机。李小姐驾车上班，尽管耗时是公交车4倍，但是她就是想显摆她的小车。

　　After decades of deprivation and conformism, Chinese consumers regard expensiveconsumer goods as trophies of success. In public, they show off. In private, they pinchpennies. The owner of a gleaming new BMW will drive around for half an hour to avoid a 50cent parking fee. And she will hesitate to spend much on interior decoration, because only herfamily sees the inside of her flat.

　　过了几十年的清苦日子，循规蹈矩。中国消费者们现在觉得昂贵的消费品昭示着成功。在外就炫耀不已，私下，锱铢必较。拥有一辆闪耀的新款宝马车就得四处转悠半个小时避免交那点停车费。购买房屋内部装饰则很犹豫，因为只有家人才看得到房子内。

　　By some forecasts China will be the second-largest consumer market in the world by 2015, notfar behind America. Chinese people already buy more cars than people in any other country: 13.5m last year to Americans’ 11.6m. China is on its way to becoming the biggest luxury-goods market. The central government made an increase in domestic consumption one of thepriorities of its latest five-year plan.

　　一些人预测中国会在2015年成为世界第二大消费市场，据美国不远。中国人已经比任何国家买的车都多：去年1350万辆车，美国则为1160万辆车.中国正在成为世界最大奢侈品消费市场。中央政府将加大国内消费作为未来5年计划重点。

　　Small wonder that Western firms are piling in. OnJuly 4th Nestlé, the world’s largest food maker,confirmed that it is in talks with Hsu Fu Chi, one ofChina’s biggest makers of confectionery and bakedgoodies, with a view to buying the firm.

　　这就不奇怪西方公司蜂拥进入中国市场。世界最大食品生产商雀巢在7月4日证实正在与中国最大糖果点心和烘焙糕点生厂商徐福记谈判，计划收购徐福记。

　　If a deal is sealed, it would be one of the largestforeign takeovers yet seen in China: Hsu Fu Chi isvalued at $2.6 billion on the Singapore stockexchange. China is currently Nestlé’s ninth-biggest market, with sales of SFr2.8 billion ($2.7billion) last year. That is less than half what Nestlé sells in Brazil, although China has seventimes Brazil’s population. Hence Nestlé’s hunger for Hsu Fu Chi’s distribution network, andfor its knowledge of what tickles Chinese taste buds.

　　如果收购案达成，将成为中国最大外资收购案之一：徐福记新加坡股市市值26亿美元。中国目前是雀巢第9大市场，去年销售额28亿瑞士法郎(合27亿美元)。不到雀巢在巴西销售额一半，尽管中国人口是巴西7倍。因此，雀巢急需徐福记在中国的销售网络，和徐福记对中国消费者口味的了解。

　　“Understanding the consumer is the most important thing for us,” says Paul Bulcke, the boss ofNestlé. The food business is more local than almost any other—trying to sell cheese in China islike trying to sell stinky tofu in Switzerland. Nestlé has been sniffing around for takeover targetsin China for the past two years. Hsu Fu Chi is not its first bite. In April it took a controllingstake in Yinlu Foods Group, a family-owned maker of peanut milk and canned rice porridge.

　　雀巢CEO保罗·薄凯Paul Bulcke 认为“我们深知消费者对我们至关重要。”较之其他行业，食品行业是非常本土化的—在中国卖奶酪就像在瑞士卖豆腐。过去两年，雀巢在中国四处搜寻收购目标，并没有一眼挑中徐福记。4月雀巢对银鹭食品公司控股(60%)，银鹭公司是国内一家生产花生牛奶和灌装粥类的公司。

　　Multinational firms trying to woo Chinese consumers have so far concentrated on thecountry’s thriving coastal regions. P&G, an American maker of shampoo, toothpaste andother sundries, has its Chinese headquarters in Guangzhou. Its Anglo-Dutch rival Unilever’shome is in Shanghai. Yet both firms are preparing for a “second consumer revolution” amongthe 665m Chinese who live in rural areas. The income gap between China’s coastal cities andrustic interior is still six-to-one, but rural incomes are rising and 665m heads could use a wholelot of shampoo.

　　跨国公司竭力赢得中国消费者青睐，目标集中于中国沿海地区。宝洁公司(美国洗发水﹑牙膏及其他杂件生产商)在广州成立总部。它的对手联合利华(荷兰Margrine Unie人造奶油公司和英国Lever Brothers香皂公司于1929 年合并而成)中国总部位于上海。两家公司都在准备6.65亿中国农村消费者的“第二次消费者革命”。中国沿海和内地乡村收入差距依然是6:1，但农村收入已在提高，6.65亿人的日化产品使用量相当可观。

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